Page 17 of Sunset at Embthwaite Farm
“Yes, it is, but in some ways, it feels old, because we never stopped caring for each other, from all those years ago. But you’re right. I’m probably rushing things without even realising.” Rachel gave her a sudden, wry smile that lit up her whole face and lightened Anna’s burdened heart. “Thanks, Mum. It’s been good talking to you about all this.”
When had she last heardthat? Had a conversation like this? “My pleasure,” she replied lightly. “I’m always happy to listen.”
“So, where is this place you’re going to move to?” Rachel asked. “In Mathering itself?”
“Yes, on Jubilee Street,” she replied. “Behind Agatha’s tea rooms. Do you know it?”
“I think so,” Rachel replied, wrinkling her nose. “It’s not as if Mathering is all that big, is it? Is it the one with all the painted doors?”
Anna smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s right, like a rainbow.”
“I think all the residents agreed to do it together or something, a few years ago,” Rachel recalled. “It made the front page of theMathering Beacon.”
“As it would,” Anna replied with a laugh. “That’s what passes for big news in this town.” She spoke without any rancour, but Rachel still frowned.
“Does it feel very small and provincial to you, coming back here?”
“No, not really,” Anna answered thoughtfully. “A bit more than Stroud, maybe, but I live in a small market town. I’m used to it.” She paused. “Does it to you, coming from London?” Anna was starting to realise that some of her daughter’s comments weren’t the passive-aggressive criticisms she sometimes feared they were, but rather were directed inward.
“Sometimes,” Rachel admitted. “Not in a bad way, at least not entirely, but…everybody knows your business. You can’t go to the post office without someone later asking you who you’ve been writing to.”
“That definitely has its up and down sides,” Anna agreed. If she lived right in Mathering, would people poke their noses into her business? Maybe half the town was already talking about how Anna Mowbray had finally come back, just as Agatha had said. Did she care? Anna asked herself, and was surprised to realise she didn’t, at least not as much as she once might have.
“Well, I think it’s great,” Rachel suddenly pronounced. “You’re right—we could all do with a bit more space, and I imagine you’d prefer not to be stuck in the back bedroom and tiptoeing around us.”
“Well…” Anna gave a good-natured grimace and Rachel laughed.
“Do you need any help with your stuff?”
“No, I’ve just got the one suitcase. I’ll be fine.” She hesitated and then added, “Thank you, Rachel, for understanding. I’ll come back after I’ve unpacked and talk to Harriet about it all.”
Rachel nodded. “I think she’ll understand.” She paused. “We are getting there, Mum. I think.”
Anna felt a warm rush of love not just for Rachel, but for Harriet, too, for the three of them, bumbling towards a new beginning. “Yes,” she agreed, smiling. “We are. Definitely.”
*
It was witha lighter heart that she packed her one suitcase and headed out to her car for the move to Mathering. If she was going to stay for an extended period, Anna reflected, it might be worth going back to her place in Stroud to get a few more things. It was four hours by car, which meant she’d most likely have to go overnight, but she found she liked the idea of having a few of her own things about her. If Rachel and Harriet could spare her—and Anna suspected they probably could—perhaps she’d head down there one weekend soon.
It gave her time in Mathering a certain longevity that she hadn’t entirely anticipated when she’d first made the admittedly spur-of-the-moment decision to come up here after Rachel’s text. She hadn’t thought it through properly at all, simply got in the car and gone. It had felt like the last chance for her to make amends for the past, or at least to make peace with it. With Peter, even, although that seemed unlikely at this point, since he couldn’t seem to stand the sight of her. But who knew, Anna told herself, determined to stay optimistic. Stranger things had happened.
As she pulled up in front of 32 Jubilee Street, with its friendly, lavender door, Jane came out of Number30, almost as if she’d been waiting by the window for Anna’s arrival, although she hadn’t said when she was coming, only that it would be sometime in the morning.
“I’ve put the kettle on,” Jane cried as she bounded toward the car. “And Henry’s asleep, so I can help you with your things.”
“I’m afraid I’ve only got this one suitcase,” Anna told her as she got out of the car, gratified but also slightly taken aback by Jane’s unbridled enthusiasm. “I travel light.”
“Oh, so you do!” Jane looked a bit disappointed by this news. “Well, I’ll show you in, anyway.”
With a flash of insight, Anna realised that this was probably the highlight of Jane’s day. She’d forgotten how isolating having a baby could be, when you were positively starved for adult interaction.
“That would be wonderful,” she told Jane. “And you said you’d switched on the kettle…?”
She was gratified to see her new neighbour perk up. “Yes, I did, if you fancy a cuppa…?”
“Always,” Anna assured her.
*
